Tim’s Notebook – Oyster Bed Speedway Finale

Oyster Bed Speedway finished their season on Sunday with a massive card of racing, which not only included Kids Rides, but the Clean It All Street Stock Super Series 50 and a massive demolition derby event to really end the 2014 season off with a bang. Here is a bit of a look back in Tim’s Notebook if you missed the final stock car card of the season on Prince Edward Island.

GREGORY ENDS SEASON ON WINNING NOTE, WOOLAVER CRUISES TO CHAMPIONSHIP

When all the dust settled on Sunday, Jillian Gregory was standing with her second checkered flag and first place trophy in as many meets.

After race winner Harley Cornish and Scott Perry each failed post race technical inspection for camber infractions, Gregory was declared the winner a race meet after scoring her first feature win, a part of a Triple Win on September 7th. For Gregory, her final six races between the two race days resulted in four wins, two of those being features, a third and a fifth. While Jason Baglole, who was absent on the final day of racing, cleaned up in the first half of the season, Gregory will go into the off-season with the hottest hand of any driver at Oyster Bed Speedway.

Behind her in the race results sits Charles Woolaver. Relatively quiet on finale day, the champion of the Chris’s Bobcat Services Mini Stock division worked from fourth in the heat, to third in the semi to second in the feature. The overall division champion, who now has his eyes set on the Atlantic Championship title at the CENTRE For Speed this weekend, is looking for a dual cam Neon to move up to the Outlaw division with after house rules will see him leave the Four Fun class with the championship victory.

His nearest competitor in the championship was Tyler Smith, who had Greg Proude’s Parts for Trucks Tour spotter Blake Collicutt at the wheel of the #27 Loyalist Marble and Tile Dodge, finished third in the feature on the final night of the season. The gap in points in the division will go down as a 91 point victory for Woolaver and the #10 B&M DesRoches Construction Neon.

TYLER MACLEAN WAITS FOR CHAMPIONSHIP

After waiting over 24 hours after the race had received the checkered flag, Tyler MacLean had officially been named the winner of the feature at the season finale, and maybe more importantly, the champion in the Duffy’s Service Centre Outlaw class.

MacLean and his #1 Honda entered four points in the rearview mirror of the #45 car, which had been split this season by Kendall Palmer and James Doucette. In each race on the afternoon, MacLean got edged by the #45 Coverall Construction Honda, including in the feature by Doucette.

When the cars rolled out of tech on Sunday, a race winner and champion had yet to be named – other than it wouldn’t be the #45 team after they failed technical inspection for an engine infraction. Upon further review of the #1 car, MacLean was officially declared the race winner and champion Monday by Oyster Bed officials.

While nobody likes to see a race, or in this case, a championship, won or lost in the tech shed after the race, you have to give the guys and gals credit for keeping teams honest and by the rulebook. In the end, it keeps the competition fair and the racing on the track close, which, at the end of the day, is what the true race fan comes to see on track.

BURKE DOMINATES STREET STOCK 50

Troy Burke picked up where he left off at Petty Raceway on September 21st.

Burke, in the Charlottetown Automotive Repair Solutions #0 Street Stock, was poised for at least a top three finish at Petty Raceway during Mike Stevens Memorial weekend after mixing it up with Geoff Tugwell and eventual winner Mike Duskey, before something let go on the car and ended his day in the second half of the Twin 25s race on the mainland.

It turned out his #0 car is built for 40ish lap runs, because within the final five laps of the Clean It All Street Stock Super Series 50, it looked like it was going to let loose again.

A trail of smoke began to develop with about five laps to go in the 50 lap event Sunday, but the car held together just long enough to take the checkered flag on the final race date of the season.

And, usually, at most tracks, the winner of the big feature of the afternoon gets to get up close with the trophy girl. As you can see in the photo, Burke was quick to lay one on the “trophy girl” in victory lane for the Street Stock Super Series final – Stephen Gass. Burke ran “Hi Steve” on his car in the last two races after Gass mistakenly took Burke for another car at the David Lambe Memorial race and turned the #0 car.

Oh, and by the way, the competitive bunch of Stella Maris Credit Union Street Stock drivers finished off their season caution free in the 50-lap affair Sunday.

Joel Hickox had a strong car Sunday and was one of only two, he and Burke, that could really gap the field under green. Hickox would drive up to second in front of Nick Chaisson at the stripe. Chaisson’s third place run was good enough to wrap up the Street Stock Super Series crown, while a sixth place finish by Mark MacLean gave the #82 Seafood Express team the track championship in the class.

LATE MODEL MADNESS – MACEWEN DODGES BULLETS FOR CHAMPIONSHIP

For the second time in his career, Robbie MacEwen is the Central Engine Services Late Model Champion at Oyster Bed Speedway. MacEwen and his #40 MacEwen Motorsports team racked up six feature wins on the season, including the Maritime Late Model 100 and had a comfortable lead heading into the finale.

Though I’m sure the fans of the #40 may have had their hearts skip a beat at least once during the Semi.

In the opening laps of the Semi, Kris Fournier, who entered second in the points, and MacEwen made contact in Turn One, sending Fournier up into MacEwen and stripping the drivers side door sheet metal off the #40.

Laps later, the other four cars in the semi would end up wadded up on the backstraight.

After Randy Millar got sideways in the lead out of Turn Two, he and fellow heat winner Matt Palmer came together and collected the outside wall. Behind them, Brodie MacQuarrie and Darrell Ford tried to navigate the spinning cars and ended up collecting themselves going into Turn Three.

The only two cars not involved? Fournier and MacEwen.

The #00 Totally Tile Dodge went on to win the Semi, while Millar and Palmer went to work on piecing their cars back together. Without an extra rack, Millar was forced to sit out the feature while Palmer’s team pieced his car back together to run the final feature of the year, locking down third in points. Palmer was running a second car the team put together in a pinch after a heat race wreck on September 7th with Dylan Lenentine destroyed their primary car.

While Darrell Ford rebounded from his flat tire in the semi and went on to win his first feature of the season, MacEwen’s close second place finish to a hard charging Brandon Snow was enough to seal up his second track championship.

Alison MacKinnon also picked up a semi win on the day, and Paul Montgomery was close to picking up another checkered flag on the season in a qualifier before a last lap spin put him out of the top spot.

MacEwen has his eyes set on some more Maritime Pro Stock Tour races in 2015 after a handful of Pro Stock starts in 2014, which included one heat win.

DEMOLITION DREAMING – 38 BASH FOR THE CASH

Tignish’s loss is a gain for Oyster Bed Bridge.

After a demolition event on the western end of the Island was canceled, with cars and teams ready to go at the time of the axing, they were left without a place to smash their chariots.

Enter Oyster Bed Speedway.

Originally scheduled for their traditional Labour Day date earlier in the month, the event had been washed out twice before finally taking place last Sunday.

And take place it did, with over three dozen cars!

Nearly forty cars entered the ring, split up into a four and six cylinder class and a V8 class. The count is believed to be the biggest they’ve ever had at the Speedway for a Demolition.

With them also brought the crowd, one of the biggest seen all season long at the Speedway and one of the biggest crowds for a stock car show, outside of a major 250, seen anywhere in the region all Summer. The crowd saw two exceptional demolitions, along with taking in the great stock car card to close off the 2014 season.

NEXT UP – OYSTER BED BANQUET

The drivers and teams will officially complete the 2014 season with the Oyster Bed Speedway Awards Banquet on Saturday, October 25th at the APM Center in Cornwall. Festivities get under way at 6:30pm and MacBeth will play for the dance following the awards ceremonies. Tickets are $25 and can be picked up at Charlottetown Bottle and Metal.

Tim’s Corner Motorsports is actively seeking an advertising partner for us to attend the Awards Banquet, to chat with the champions and the news makers from the 2014 season. For more information, please contact Tim at tim@timscorner.ca.

I’d like to thank all the drivers, crews and staff of Oyster Bed Speedway for their warm hospitality throughout the 2014 season. TCM covered seven events on the Island this year, plus a rain out, and it was a blast watching each and every one of you put on a show throughout the season. Special thanks to Mark Williams at RacingTrader.ca, Kenny and Brandon Snow of Snowstorm Racing and Kris Fournier at Totally Tile for helping out our coverage this season. Thanks guys!

Of course, congratulations to all four track champions – Robbie MacEwen, Mark MacLean, Charles Woolaver and Tyler MacLean, each of whom ran TCM stickers throughout the season. Thanks to you and all teams that ran the TCM colors on PEI this season!

Until next time, keep the hammer down and we’ll see you at the track!